Ben's allergy test results.

Well, the peanut is still positive, which I pretty much expected and so it's easy to deal with. The egg came back negative, as did milk. We expected the milk since Ben's been consuming dairy for months now. It's nice to see the result on paper though.

If I'd posted this about six hours sooner I probably would have been over the moon about the negative egg result. The allergist instructed to start out by offering egg products and to observe Ben for a reaction, then if all goes well to move on to well cooked eggs, i.e., hard boiled or well done scrambled eggs. So, I baked some oatmeal mini-muffins while Ben had his nap. One egg in the entire batch. When he woke up he ate three muffins (probably more like two with waste) and no sign of a reaction. About an hour or two later I notice what looked like a little hive on his upper lip (causing me to burst into tears of disappointment). Then about ten minutes later a reddish spot besides the 'hive'. Im not entirely sure what to make of this. Having seen a reaction before (granted, more a obvious reaction) I feel in my gut that it was a reaction, but it's tough to be certain. What I've planned to do is make pancakes on Saturday morning when Nic's home; the egg will be a bit more concentrated so hopefully it'll be enough to make for a more obvious, but not horrific, reaction.

I'll post more on the weekend. Fingers crossed.

Oh, and we're back to the allergist in May for tree nut testing. A whole other can of worms. Good fun.

Me and my friends.

Ben arranged his favourite stuffed animals on the bottom step to wait for me to come home from my shopping trip yesterday. When Ben heard me come in the door he quickly ran over and took his spot on the step.

Tomorrow's allergy appointment.

I'm just worried sick over it. :(

I'll update tomorrow.

A photo shoot: by Ben.

Ben got hold of the camera while I was in the kitchen and decided to take some pics. I didn't realise until I'd gone through yesterday's pictures after he'd gone to bed. I had a good laugh at the surprise shots.

Close-up

Extreme close-up:

Very extreme close-up:

Nose shot:

Chin shot:

Shot of the couch:

Close-up of Ben's t-shirt:

Looking up Ben's nose:

Two year molars.

They're coming in. And they explain why Ben's been cranky and whiney lately. And of course now I feel awful for being a bit short with him lately too.

He won't let me poke in his mouth anymore, but I did manage to shine a flashlight in and get a look at his bottom gums. Both bottom molars are coming in. Not sure what's going on up top; they could be in already for all I know!

Week 5: I have no self control.

Andi came over for a visit last night while Nic was out with friends and I told her I was pregnant. *Now* I'll be able to keep it secret until I know everything's fine, then we'll share with our folks (probably in a couple of weeks or so), and later on with the rest of the family and our friends.

Week 5: My chart.

One thing I didn't do while trying to conceive Ben was chart my basal body temperature (first morning resting temperature), so I gave it a try this time around and what a neat thing it is.

In a nutshell, during the first half of a woman's menstrual cycle (known as the follicular phase) body temperature should be recorded daily. The day after ovulation occurs a spike in temperature should be observed (the spike will vary from woman to woman) and a raised body temperature will continue to be observed through the second post-ovulatory half (the leuteal phase) of the cycle until either menses occurs (temp will begin to decline) or pregnancy is achieved (higher temp will be maintained or may continue to elevate).

There's a whole bunch of biochemical mumbo-jumbo that goes along with this, but I'll spare the details and just show you my chart from the month we concieved sweet little baby #2.

Week 5: The stuffiness is killing me.

I have chronic nighttime rhinitis. It's awful. Normally I take a little Otrivin before bed to get me through the night, but I've stopped since I found out I'm pregnant. I'll have to contact the Motherisk line at Sick Kid's hospital and find out if it's okay to take. I didn't take it with Ben, but I don't remember it being quite this bad either. All I found were opposing opinions online.

So far I've tried saline irrigation, saline spray, nasal gel, and Breath Right strips, none of which helped. In fact I used all of it last night, including the nasal strip, and my sinuses were just as plugged up as ever. I've gone through a box of Kleenex in three nights. Ugh. And nevermind how little sleep I've had.

A little nervous.

About Ben's upcoming allergy appointment. The allergist told us last year that there's probably not much point in testing again until Ben's three years old since the more severe allergies he has (egg, peanut) are not often outgrown quickly, if at all (mostly thinking of the peanut here). After speaking with our GP though he booked us in with the allergist anyway.

I think I'm okay if we don't see any positive change, I just don't want to see any negative change.

*sigh*

Week 4: Just booked my appointment with our GP.

It's not until next Tuesday because Ben and I have plans tomorrow morning (indoor playground with Andi and Cooper), Friday (the first class in a series for two-year-olds at the OEYC), and Monday (Ben's allergist appointment).

I am going to have a pretty tough time keeping this pregnancy between just Nic, Ben, and I. Although I'm still in a state of shock, I'm incredibly excited and happy. And it's funny, because I think everyone assumes that subsequent pregnancies can't possibly be as exciting as a first-time pregnancy, and it's not the case at all. Everything starts anew once again, a whole new human being developing over then next nine months, a whole new bonding experience, a whole new set of symptoms. I've already created my ticker, I've created a birth calender, and I've been hitting all my old pregnancy books to see what exactly is going on 'in there'.





I can't wait until we're ready to share with everyone! Much like last pregancy I expect we'll tell the grandparents a little sooner than everyone else.

preg: Week 4: I re-checked my math.

I'm actually due on December 3rd, not December 5th. Not that two days makes a difference BUT it does mean than I'm four weeks today! :D



Even though it's very early, this pregnancy has been very different than my pregnancy with Ben. With Ben I didn't have any PMS symptoms, but I did have implantation spotting (which took me by surprise). With this pregnancy I had nothing but PMS symptoms, or at least what seemed to be PMS symptoms. And if I may just say so, I'm feeling pretty pukey right now.

Happy Easter!

Here are some photos from Ben's first egg hunt.







Then Ben painted some wooden eggs.

And we baked some cookies.

We had a really nice long weekend. Fortunately all major stores carried peanut-free chocolate and treats so that made things much easier for us.

We had one possible hive on Easter Sunday, but fortunately it developed into nothing. For most kids a little red mark is insignificant and doesn't require a second thought, but in Ben's case it means we need to observe him fairly closely to make sure that it isn't more than a simple red mark. Allergic reactions may start out just as simply and anaphylaxsis can take up to 4 hours to occur. I'm sure things will become easier when Ben's older and more able to accurately communicate how he's feeling.

The Easter bunny was good to Ben. Besides bringing him some chocolate the Easter bunny brought Ben a big plush Pablo (from Backyardigans), a package of sidewalk chalk, a pair of rubber boots, and a funky glowy smelly ball (that Daddy picked out, thank-you Daddy). Granny and Granddad Bloomfield gave Ben a toy truck, a plush chick, and an Easter book, all of which Ben is enjoying. Grandpa and Nana Beaton have something in the mail, a plush Thomas I think, we'll find out tomorrow.

Nic also had today, Easter Monday, off work. It was really nice to have him home for a four day weekend. Ben definitely enjoyed having more Daddy-time, and it was really great for us to have some quality family time without feeling like we had a million other things we needed to get done (despite having to unexpectedly replace our dishwasher AND microwave).

Happy Easter, everyone!

Week 4: I'm floored!

I'm pregnant! And incredibly excited! And if I'm honest, a little bit stunned.

Although we've been trying to get pregnant I really didn't feel that this was our lucky month. What a wonderful surprise!

Based on my calculations I'm due on December 5th, 2008; almost three years, to the day, from Ben's birth. We love our December babies around here!

Here's my pregnancy ticker. It currently reads "3 weeks & 2 days pregnant. Only 257 days to go." Only. Ha-ha! (I recorded that because the ticker will update daily, and so by the time I release this post - probably in June - it'll be well past 3 weeks. :)









We look forward to meeting you, little babe.

Happy Easter Sunday!

Future Calvin Klein model?

What a cute little bum!
And Ben also tries on his rain gear. (I'm not sure who's more excited about going out to splash in puddles, Ben or me.)

Some pics from our snow day a couple of weeks ago

Blogger was acting up so I didn't get these posted on the day of.

We've had more than our share of snow here in southern Ontario this winter. Here are some pics from one of our days in the snow.

And before I forget...

Apple sauce is apple luh-LAH.

Who loves Benjamin?

While driving in the car today I posed a question.

Me: Who loves Benjamin?
Ben: Gampa loves Benjamin.
Me: Who else loves Benjamin?
Ben: Nana loves Benjamin.

Repeat with Granny, Grandad, Nanny, Mama, Daddy, the cats...and then...

Me: Who else?
Ben: Lellow car loves Benjamin. Digger loves Benjamin.

The 'noggin'

Nic was putting Ben to bed tonight and Ben started asking for his 'boo noggin' and his 'lellow noggin'... it's the first time Ben's asked for his soother since we chucked them. I could hear him over the monitor and my heart just broke for him. Poor kid. Hopefully he forgets about them soon.

If you owned this dog...?

I showed Ben a picture of a dog.

Me: Ben, if this was yoru dog what would you name it?
Ben: Big Digger!

The loss of the nap and the *knock wood* return of the nap.

So Ben decided that playing instead of napping was a great idea. After three days of non-napping-hell I decided it wasn't. I don't think I could have taken another day of meltdowns, fighting tooth and nail every step of the way, all day, every day. So the nap is back. I had to pull out a 'super nanny' move (sticking by Ben's door at naptime, watching, and insisting he return to bed if he makes a move), the past two days he's been down for his nap in 15 minutes. Not without tears, but I'll take 15 minutes of crying over 12 hours of it.

Yay for the return of the nap. Now let's hope I havent' jinxed myself.

I have the sweetest kid in the world.

Ben accidentally bonked me on the head with a toy airplane while we were playing yesterday. When I said 'ouch!' he immediately stood up and kissed me on the head to make it better. What a sweetheart. I love this kid.

Benjamin the Beer Monster!

Buh-bye 'noggin'.

Unbeknownst to us last night was Ben's last night with the soother.

I check them daily, and it's a good thing, because when I went to put him down for a nap about 15 minutes ago I looked at his soother and it had a gaping hole in it (likely from him chewing on it). I showed the damage to Ben, told him it was broken, and he threw it down the stairs to Daddy who put it in the trash. Then I went on the hunt for Ben's only other soother, found it, another gaping hole, repeat previous scene, and that was it, all out of soothers. I told myself that these two would be the last two, but I expected to be able to prepare for it! (Given the state of his soothers we definitely *won't* reintroduce them; its a matter of safety.)

And so initially he wasn't pleased, cried, called for me, I went into his room, laid down in his bed with him, talked to him in a low, calm voice, told him to watch the ceiling fan to help him fall asleep, and then quietly excused myself from the room (without looking back); not a peep since. In fact, this is one of the easier times I've had putting him down for a nap lately.

Overall I don't expect it to be too difficult since he only took it at nap and bedtime, and honestly, I think he's ready; he doesn't keep it in his mouth throughout the night, just until he falls asleep. We're very proud of Benjamin - he's become such a big boy. :*)